Ralph Fiennes is a remarkable actor. And if he wins an Academy Award for his brilliant performance in Conclave, this section of his masterfully delivered homilyto the College of Cardinals, of which he plays the dean, is likely to be cited frequently:

Let me speak from the heart for a moment.

St. Paul said, “Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.” To work together, to grow together, we must be tolerant, no one person or faction seeking to dominate another.

And speaking to the Ephesians, who were, of course, a mixture of Jews and Gentiles, Paul reminds us that God’s gift to the Church is its variety. It is this variety, this diversity of people and views, which gives our Church its strength.

And over the course of many years in the service of our mother, the Church, let me tell you, there is one sin which I have come to fear above all others: certainty. 

Certainty is the great enemy of unity. Certainty is the deadly enemy of tolerance. Even Christ was not certain at the end. “Dio mio, Dio mio, perché mi hai abbandonato?” he cried out in his agony at the ninth hour on the Cross.

Our faith is a living thing precisely because it walks hand in hand with doubt. If there was only certainty and no doubt, there would be no mystery and, therefore, no need for faith.

Let us pray that God will grant us a pope who doubts . . .

No, let’s not.

Read the rest: https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2025/01/from-doubting-thomas-to-doubting-peter